Shadow of Uther

[Diana]

Chloe grinned, wanting to say that he didn't have to worry about that. Instead she bid him goodbye and slipped in to her room. Even though he suggested she rest, Chloe couldn't have done so without making sure she had most of his clothes mended. She really did feel bad for taking advantage of his offer so she was determined to make sure he was repaid in any way she was capable.

By the late evening, Chloe suddenly awoke and realized she must have fallen asleep while sewing. Laying haphazard on the bed with one of his shirts in hand. She cursed herself for the ill-timed sleeping. Especially since she was on her last length of thread and needed a new spool.

Chloe slipped out of the bed, moving to the window to check the light. It wasn't quite dusk yet, so a few of the shops might still be open. She could get a spool, as well as a bite to eat. Now that her sickness had passed, she was famished! While she was out she could ask about work too.

Pulling a shawl to wrap around her shoulders, Chloe exited her room and the Inn quietly and without notice. She wasn't sure if Nick was resting or out looking for work himself, either way she didn't want to be constantly bothering the man. Her errand would only take a few minutes and she'd be back before he'd know it.

Of course, nothing ever seemed to go as planned for Chloe. She hadn't gotten too far before someone grabbed her by the elbow and was pulling her down the street. "Dere you are, Bess! Though' you were goin' ta get out of it? No sir! Gonna get dis all over wit right now! Got 'em waitin' at the church!"

"Who?" Chloe asked, a little surprise. At first she was in a near panic, thinking she had been caught up with. But the man mentioned a 'Bess' and that was definitely not her. On inspection, she realized he must have been almost completely blind. He wore glasses so thick, that his eyes looked as wide as saucers. "I am sorry, but I'm not Bess...!"

"Donchu go tellin' anymoe stories now. We done fell for dat six times now, an we ain't gonna fall for it again! You gon marry my brother and dats dat!"

"But my name is Chloe!" She was perplexed at how this woman named Bess managed to trick them six times. But for the moment she was in a strange predicament! No amount of wiggling was getting her arm out of his grasp, and they were nearing a small wood built chapel at the edge of town. Chloe hope his brother wasn't as blind.

 

[Jovian]

Nick had merely went into his room to drop off the two knives he had removed from the bag and then left again. He had to search for this woman his boss wanted. It was better for him to begin his search while there was still light out. He started at near the inn, going to houses and asking about the women, stating it was for a survey about when women were getting pregnant, and that he was a researcher doing the study. He was so nice and polite about it that he was very believable. The first couple of houses had older women who coddled on him while they talking about daughters and granddaughters until he could find a way to excuse himself.

Tired after listening to so many stories, he went back to the inn to check on Chloe. Receiving no answer, he decided she must be asleep and left again. He wasn't sure about eating at the inn if the old woman was cooking, though she likely had enough experience. But with as bad as her sight seemed to be, he wasn't sure how she could do any cooking. He wandered out into town until he saw some activity in front of the chapel. Nick squinted at them; he could barely see what was going on due to his distance, but it looked like some manhandling of someone through the chapel doors.

Frowning, he began to walk briskly in that direction.

 

[Diana]

Inside the chapel was a haphazard display of dried flowers, long dusty yards of fabric, and a very tired looking priest waiting down the isle. When the glasses wearing man entered, tugging Chloe along, he seemed to perk up. Only to fall back to an exasperated despair as they came down the isle. At least the priest wasn't blind, Chloe thought with some relief.

"Albert, where'd you get this young woman?" asked the priest.

"Found Bess wanderin' around town, but I got 'er dis time!" replied the man whose name was apparently Albert.

"My name isn't Bess." Chloe tried to explain again, still attempting to twist herself loose. This entire thing wasn't exactly helping her stay unnoticed!

The priest coughed. "She's right, Albert, this woman isn't Bess. You go on and let her go now and get those glasses fixed."

Albert, confused and filled with disbelief, pulled Chloe closer and leaned down almost an inch away from her nose. It felt like several moments too long for him to finally decide that she was indeed not Bess. However, he still didn't let her go. "I'mma marry 'er m'self den!"

"All right, that I can do." Responded the priest, much to Chloe's surprise.

"No! Nononono! That is not how these things work, we have to be engaged don't we? I haven't even agreed!" she nearly shouted.

The priest shrugged. "He's decided you are the one he wants to marry, it might not happen tonight, but once Albert gets it in his head. That's what Albert gets. Unless you are already married, Miss?"

This was quite possibly the craziest thing she had ever heard. She thought quickly. "I... yes! Yes I am already married. My husband is in town with me." Of course, now she was going to have to leave town in the morning, but seeing that the villagers here were clearly crazy, Chloe wasn't too concerned about that now.

Albert growled so suddenly that it made Chloe jump. "GRRRrrr.. Ah'll kill 'im! Where is dis man who stole mah next wife! Ah'll rip off his legs n' arms n' head, then we can git married!"

"Oh no no, you can't do that. I'm pregnant and then my baby won't have a father? So I think you should calm down and find a nice lady who really loves you to marry, and not pick up random women in the street all right?" Chloe wouldn't have mentioned her pregnancy at all, but she got the feeling that Albert would very likely go tearing through the town looking for her mysterious husband. The only man anywhere near her was the very nice Mister Nick and she would hate to have him killed by mistake thanks to a fib gone all wrong.

Albert, though, still seemed hell bent on snarling and working himself up in to a tizzy. Even when Chloe cast the Priest a scowl, the other man didn't seem to want to do a thing to help.

This was possibly the weirdest situation she had ever been in.